Coin-controlled apparatus



s P 1936. 4 1 c. DU GRENIER 2,052,611

COIN CONTROLLED APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5, 1935 l I/IIIIIIIIII-VIIIIIIII/Illllllfl, 1111111111. v

Patented Sept. 1, 1936 COIN-CONTROLLED APPARATUS Francis 0. Du ,Grenier, Haverhill, Mass., assignor of one-half to Blanche E. Bouchard, Haverhill, Mass.

Application November 5, 1935, Serial No. 48,269

3 Claims. (01. 194-103) This invention particularly relates to coin-controlled vending machines in which several coins of the same denomination are inserted in the same passage to permit the dispensing operation to be 5 performed.

In machines of this character it is customary to test the coins as to genuineness before they are delivered'tothe releasing mechanism, and difiiculty has been encountered in this connection due to the fact that, at times, the coins are inserted so rapidly, one after another, that clogging or wedging of the coins in the runway results.

- Also, as each'coin should be tested as to weight, before it'is accepted by the machine, and, to test 7 the weight accurately, the coin should be held momentarily on the weight testing device, the

presence of a second coin in engagement with the coin which is being tested obviously prevents the weight testing operationfrom being accurately performed.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby the rapidity with which the coins are delivered to the weight testing device will be regulated, so that each coin' will be separately tested as -to weight, regardless of'the fact that a plurality of coins may have been inserted at the intake slot practically in contact-at their edges, and so that, when the coins are delivered to the weight testing device, or from it to the coin-receiving passage, they will be sufiiciently spaced apart to avoid the possibility of clogging the passage.

I accomplish this object by providing an intercepting device in the coin passage adjacent to,

and in advance of the weight testing device, so

that, as each coin is received by the weight testing device, it automatically moves the intercepting device to a position in which it intercepts the next succeeding coin and arrests its movement until the first coin has passed from the weight tester, whereby interference with the weight testing operation is prevented, and the coins are sufliciently spaced apart, when delivered to the passage beyond the weight tester, to prevent the possibility of interference or clogging.

For a more complete disclosure of my invention, reference is now made to the following specification, in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:--

Figs. 1 and 2 are side elevations of a coin-testing mechanism, provided with an embodiment of my invention and showing the parts thereof in different positions.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view at line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 is a detail View showing another position of the parts.

In the drawing a portion only of the coin-controlled mechanism is illustrated, such portion being principally confined to the parts associated 5 with the coin entrance passage into which a plurality of coins, usually from 2 to 4 in number, are inserted for the purpose of releasing the normally locked dispensing mechanism. While two coin entrance passages are shown in thepresent l0 instance, a plurality of coins are inserted in only one of them, in the present instance the nickel slot, to enable the dispensing operation to be performed.

In Figs. 1 and 2 a type of coin tester Ill is illusl trated, which tests the coins as to diameter, thickness, magnetism and weight, so that imperfect checks are either immediately returned, or, if intercepted, are returned on an initial movement of the dispensing mechanism, this portion of the apparatus being more fully disclosed in my application, Serial No. 18,621, filed April 2'7, 1935.

The passage 12, in which the plurality of coins are inserted to release the dispensing mechanism, leads to a weight tester I l, which is mount- 25 ed on a pivot l5 and has a coin-receiving cup 55, which extends to one side of the pivot and is counter balanced by weights, which normally hold the cup IS in the nearly horizontal position shown in Fig. 1, the arrangement being such that 30 when a standard coin rolls down the passage l2,

it passes onto the cup l6, and its weight will be sufiicient to cause the tester to tilt, so that the coin will roll from the .cup and pass into the coin-receiving passage I8, from which point it 35 will be conducted to the releasing means. If, however, the coin or check is under weight, it will not over-balance the tester and will be retained thereby until the member III, which carries the coin-testing means, is swung outward by the at- 40 tempted operation of the dispensing mechanism, which will cause it to be dumped into the return passage Hi.

It will be apparent that if several coins are placed in the coin passage in rapid succession, 45 as the first coin inserted passes onto the weight tester, its progress is momentarily checked before it overbalances the tester and rolls in the opposite direction, so that it is discharged into passage l8. As a result, the second coin insert- 50 ed is likely, under these conditions, to come in contact with the first coin before the latter is discharged from the tester. In consequence the normal functions of the weight tester would be interfered with, as each coin would not be sepa- 55 rately tested as to weight, and moreover wedging together of the coins or clogging of the passage is liable to occur at this point.

According to my present invention, I provide an intercepting device, which comprises an approximately right angularly shaped lever 20', which is mounted on a pivot 2| at one side of passage l2 and directly above the Weight tester l4, said lever having two arms 22 and 23, the: latter having a transversely bent end portion 24, which is arranged to extend across passage I2. The arrangement is such that, when the tester I4 swings upward to its normal, or horizontal position of Fig. 1, a shoulder 25 thereon engages the lower end of arm 22 and swings it into the position of Fig. 1, in which position the arm23 is held above the passage l2, so that a coin passing down the same will not be intercepted by its :end portion 24, but will be free to pass onto the cup l6 of the tester. As soon, however, as this occurs the tester. begins to tilt, due to the weight of the coin thereon, so that the shoulder 25 is lowered and no longer sustains the arm 22, which is thus permitted to swing downward, so that arm 23 swings down by its gravity into the passage l2 and intoa position in which its end portion 24 will engage the edge and intercept the nextcoin which has been inserted, as shown in Fig. 2. As a result, the downward movement of the second coin will be arrested until the first coin has been discharged into passage J8, as shown in Fig. f1. After this occurs the tester'swings back to its normal position and swings up the arm 22, so that arm 23 is lifted sufiiciently to permit the second coin to pass on to the tester, and,.if a third coin has been inserted, this willbe intercepted by arm 23 in like manner, and, as a result, thecoins, although they may have been in contact. at their edges before, or as the first thereof passes onto the weight tester, each coin will be momentarily sustained on the tester out of contact with the next coin following, and the coins will be sufiiciently spaced apart, as they are delivered to the receiving passage l8, to avoid the possibility of clogging. The possibility of clogging or wedging together of the'ooins above the weight tester is also avoided, as previously explained.

I claim:

1. In a coin-controlled mechanism adapted to be released by a plurality of coins of the same denomination and having a coin-receiving passage to which the coins are successively delivered, a weight tester in said passage adapted to be tilted by the weight of a coin thereon, to deliver the coin therefrom, and a coin intercepter arranged to be normally held by said tester in an inoperative position and to be disengaged therefrom when the tester is tilted to discharge a coin, to permit said intercepter to move into position to prevent movement of the next succeeding coin to said tester until the first coin has been delivered therefrom and the tester has returned to normal position.

2. In a coin-controlled mechanism adapted to be released by, a plurality of coins of the same denomination and having a coin-receiving passage to which the coins are successively delivered, a weight tester in said passage adapted to be tilted by the weight of a coin thereon, to

deliver the coin therefrom, and acoin intercepter pivotally mounted independently of said tester and adjacent said passage and having'an arm normally held in an inoperativeposition byengagement with said tester when the latter is held in normal position and actuated to swing into position to prevent passage of a. coin tosaid tester when the latter is tilted,;and to-return to inoperative position when the tester is returned; to normalposition.

3. In a coin-controlledmechanism.adapted .6

I be released by a plurality of coins of thesame denominationand having a. coin-receiving passage to which the coins are successively delivered, a weight tester in said passage adapted to be tilted by the weight of a coin thereon, todeliver the coin therefrom, and a coin interceptor comprising a lever pivotally mounted adjacent said passage and having a pair of arms, one of said 

